For parents, the time between the birth of a child and their first day of school is both a lifetime and the blink of an eye. The support society provides to parents during this time is essential. Paid leave from work allows parents to care for their child in those crucial first years of life. And early childhood education and care – childcare – is essential for parents, particularly women, to reintegrate into society after the birth of a child.
However, in Ireland today, many parents face a long care gap in their child’s early years. Family leave is not paid enough to provide an income replacement, and it doesn’t even cover the first year of a child’s life.
While EU laws have created a set of minimum standards for family leave rights and benefits, some countries go much further than others in supporting parents and families during their children’s early years. Ireland is the only country in the EU that doesn’t link family leave benefits to income, but instead pays at a very low flat rate.
There have been positive changes in family leave supports in recent years in Ireland, but we still fall far behind many of our European peers.
Read more about some of the key issues and gaps in this area by clicking the publication above.